THREE EIGHT-FOOT-TALL glowing heads sit on a square pile of smooth marble stones, their faces marked with words in relief. One face’s forehead reads “Ignorance,” with “Wrath” on one cheek and “Desire” on the other. Bruce Guenther, the Portland Art Museum’s (PAM) chief curator, envisioned this big experience (Jaume Plensa’s “In the Midst of Dreams”) as the capital letter to his latest creation, Disquieted, but it’s only the beginning.
In Charles Ray’s “Fall ’91,” a nine-foot-tall mannequin, hands on hips and clad in a power suit, stands aggressively above the viewer. A few steps away is “Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Three): Altered Person with Descending Hand” by John Baldessari, a grainy photo of a gloved hand reaching for a woman’s face. As it’s uncertain whether the woman is in a moment of pleasure or pain, and whether the gloved hand is descending to help or harm, the image’s ambiguity is a bit jarring. This unsettling quality is exactly what Guenther’s going for.
Via the work of 28 living artists, Guenther says Disquieted aims to disgust, horrify, and amuse, challenging our sense of “gender, identity, society, and economics” by exposing us to uncomfortable modern-day realities.
Disquieted certainly does have its unsettling moments—pieces which seem to guarantee a challenge to the consciousness of Western audiences. As evidence, two photos by Andreas Gursky: “Greeley” shows cattle in an industrial pasture from an aerial view, the animals spreading for miles into the distance; “Nha Trang, Vietnam” is another aerial shot, this time recording hundreds if not thousands of women weaving in a gloaming warehouse. The most eerie aspect of these photos is their similarity in perspective, and the treatment of the subjects—both cattle and women en masse, identity-stripped from a bird’s eye view, appear more as a pattern than living things.
Some of the works on display, though, might require the viewer to bring their own preconceived notions of a disquieted psyche in order to connect to the overall theme. Takashi Murakami’s “Hustle ‘n’ Punch by Kaikai and Kiki” shows thousands of graphical, smiley flowers over a 10-foot by 20-foot canvas—some of these cuddly flowers open their mouths to expose fangs. Rather than disquieting, this image felt playful and somewhat sarcastic. “Warp,” the second Murakami on view, is almost entirely abstract, eroded, and pattern based, and I doubt that any irrefutable argument could be made as to what emotion is being called forth.
Ultimately, the strength of the show is found in the works on display, rather than a perfectly cohesive overall theme—after all, what disquiets one viewer makes another laugh, or feel at home, or fill with any other emotion a human being might have. And while the thematic success of the show is ultimately up to the viewer, the works themselves are strong.
A major plus to Disquieted: There’re no cheesy participatory aspects, like the digital tattoo booth from Marking Portland, PAM’s tattoo exhibit. Replacing the kitsch is a Disquieted iPhone app, providing basic museum info, exhibition maps, and videos of the featured artists (and others) discussing their work. According to Guenther, the videos are designed to provide various perspectives on the works while avoiding a prescribed opinion. Unfortunately, the app wasn’t ready for use at the time of the Disquieted press preview, though it’s currently available through Apple’s App Store for $2.99 (and iPhone-less folks won’t be left out—PAM has 50 iPod Touches available for rental, pre-loaded with the app).
I’d strongly recommend against purchasing the app for this exhibit. Six of the items on the app can be found for free online because they are taken directly out of programs from other institutions. The links provided below lead to the unedited source material and provide a much fuller understanding of the artists represented in the exhibit. These links expose the viewer to amazing resources that will enable them to further enrich their exploration of contemporary art. The content created specifically for the exhibit does little justice to the artists or their work, and reflects poorly on the Portland Art Museum, Portland State University, and Pacific Northwest College of Art. Overall, the App feels like an ill-conceived attempt at incorporating technology (giving undue respect to the novelty of an iPod tour) into an exhibit at an institution that struggles to be relevant.
Content of Disquieted app:
Introduction: Bruce Guenther, Chief Curator, “Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art”
Track 1: Charles Ray: Tate Media
http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/26597357001
Track 2: Su-en Wong: Sue Taylor, Professor of Art History at Portland State, and Bruce Guenther
Track 3: John Baldessari: Tate Media http://channel.tate.org.uk/#media:/media/45538302001&list:/channel/playlists/45927933001&context:/channel/search?searchQuery=John+Baldessari
Track 4: Sue Williams: Arnold Kemp, Artist and Chair of MFA program at PNCA, and Bruce Guenther
Track 5: Tracey Emin: Sue Taylor, Professor of Art History at Portland State, and Bruce Guenther
Track 6: Gregory Crewdson: Excerpts from “Closeup: Photographers at Work” courtesy of Ovation TV
http://community.ovationtv.com/_Interview-With-Gregory-Crewdson/video/178577/16878.html
Track 7: Paul McCarthy: Art 21
http://www.youtube.com/art21org#p/search/4/E81XinVwTu4
Track 8: Wangechi Mutu: Christina Olsen, Director of Education and Public Programs at the PAM, and Bruce Guenther
Track 9: Glenn Ligon: Arnold Kemp, Artist and Chair of MFA Program at PNCA, and Bruce Guenther
Track 10: Ellen Gallagher: Art 21
http://video.pbs.org/video/1239627128
http://www.youtube.com/art21org#p/search/2/7PZnoux_zXw
http://www.youtube.com/art21org#p/search/1/Ldnd40lUaBY
Track 11: Lari Pittman: Art 21
http://video.pbs.org/video/1239665588
Track 12: Caroll Dunham: Christina Olsen, Director of Education and Public Programs at the PAM. and Bruce Guenther
Track 13: John Sonsini: Sue Taylor, Professor of Art History at Portland State, and Bruce Guenther
Track 14: Ron Mueck: Arnold Kemp, Artist and Chair of MFA program at PNCA, and Bruce Guenther
Track 15 Andreas Gursky: Christina Olsen, Director of Education and Public Programs at the PAM. and Bruce Guenther
Since the museum didn’t have the money to produce a catalog, in print or online, here is a list of what is on display. Please enjoy and remember to support your local art museum.
*****Disquieted First Floor*****
Jaume Plensa
In the Midst of Dreams, 2009
Charles Ray
Fall ’91, 1992
Barbara Kruger
Untitled (your body is a battleground) 1989
Charles Ray
Male Mannequin, 1990
Su-en Wong
Baby Pink Painting with Three Girls, 2000
Doug Aitken
Free, 2009
John Baldessari
Junction Series: Two Landscapes, Birds (with People) and Soldiers (at Attention) 2002
Bill Viola
The Quintet of the Astonished, 2000
John Baldessari
Noses and Ears, Etc (Part Three): Altered Person with Descending Hand, 2007
Daniel Richter
royit on sunsetstrip, 2008
Takashi Murakami
Hustle ‘n Punch By Kaikai and Kiki, 2009
Takashi Murakami
Warp, 2009
Tanya Batura
Sourire en Bois, 2007
Sue Williams
Testicle Flange on the Green, 1997
Wangechi Mutu
Shake a Tail Feather, 2003
Tracey Emin
Keep Me Safe
Gregory Crewdson
Untitled (Blind Reflection), Winter, 2007
Gregory Crewdson
Untitled (Birth), Winter, 2007
Paul McCarthy
Brancusi Tree (gold), 2007
*****Disquieted Second Floor*****
Ellen Gallagher
Teeth Tracks, 1996
Ellen Gallagher
Deluxe, 2004
Glenn Ligon
In My Neighborhood #1, 2004
Glenn Ligon
Remember the Revolution #1, 2004
Sanford Biggers
Cheshire, 2008
Chiho Aoshima
Rinko-chan on the Building, 2005
Chiho Aoshima
Magma Spirit Explodes, Tsunami is Dreadful, 2004
Jan Tichy
Facility 1391, 2007
Lari Pittman
Untitled, 2002
Lari Pittman
Untitled #3, 2008
Carrol Dunham
Over the Water, 2007
Robert Longo
Untitled (Sindelfingen, July 23, 2009, For Kurt, Et in Arcadia Ego), 2009
Ron Mueck
Untitled, 2001
Ron Mueck
Crouching Boy in Mirror, 1999/2002
John Sonsini
Jorge, Carlos, Luis, Remiro, Geovani, 2005
Shirin Neshat
Possessed, 2001
Andreas Gursky
Nha Trang, Vietnam, 2004
Andreas Gursky
Geeley, 2003
Adam Stennett
Mouse Swimming Overhead, 2004
I found this show terribly disappointing. Most of the works are on loan from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, so it’s all the latest and trendiest artists. If that’s your thing, you’ll love the show. Personally, I found it all very slick, commercial and shallow. Like a lot of contemporary work, it reflects the artists’ and the art audience’s interest in novelty and production values. I love the museum, but I’m not sure why they wanted to climb onto this particular bandwagon.